<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<meta charset="UTF-8">
<title>Brotherly Love by shnuffeluv</title>
<style type="text/css">

body { background-color: #ffffff; }
.CI {
text-align:center;
margin-top:0px;
margin-bottom:0px;
padding:0px;
}
.center   {text-align: center;}
.cover    {text-align: center;}
.full     {width: 100%; }
.quarter  {width: 25%; }
.smcap    {font-variant: small-caps;}
.u        {text-decoration: underline;}
.bold     {font-weight: bold;}
</style>
</head>
<body>
<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/26162353">Brotherly Love</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/shnuffeluv/pseuds/shnuffeluv'>shnuffeluv</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Phineas and Ferb</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>(but it's not between the brothers), Apologies, Brotherly Love, Familial Abuse, Family Fluff, Gen, Making Up, Trans Male Character, Trans Male Heinz Doofenshmirtz, Transphobia</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-08-28</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-08-28</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 02:32:06</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,175</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/26162353</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/shnuffeluv/pseuds/shnuffeluv</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Roger wants to have a talk with Heinz. Heinz is, understandably, nervous.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Heinz Doofenshmirtz &amp; Roger Doofenshmirtz</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>30</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>108</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Brotherly Love</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Heinz shifted on his feet nervously, looking himself over in the mirror. His suit hugged his frame a little too much for his liking; his binder was getting old and he couldn’t yet afford top surgery, so his chest wasn’t completely flat. His hips also seemed wider when he wasn’t wearing his lab coat.</p>
<p>But, this wasn’t for him, this was for Roger. He had asked to see Heinz today, and had requested that he “come alone.” Meaning he didn’t want to see his niece Vanessa, and Heinz couldn’t hide behind her.</p>
<p>It was no secret that Roger was the favorite of the family, Heinz thought bitterly as he worked on making sure his tie was on correctly. Roger didn’t mean to rub it in, but it did hurt sometimes when their parents would call him out of the blue when they were together, making it a point to ask him about mayoral duties and never once asking about Heinz, or even calling Heinz personally. It hurt. It <em>still</em> hurt.</p>
<p>He finished doing his tie as a knock at his front door pulled him out of his reverie. There were no evil schemes today, and the only thing on his schedule was this meeting with his brother. He walked to the door and opened it to find a man in a nicer suit than Heinz could ever afford saying, “Your brother requested I drive you to his house, sir.”</p>
<p>The one nice thing about being on testosterone this long was that even if his voice was high, no one mistook him for a girl anymore. “All right, I’m coming,” Heinz said sullenly, grabbing his keys, locking the door and following the driver to the car.</p>
<p>He sat in the back, sighing as he looked out the window.</p>
<p>“Nice weather we’re having, innit?” the man asked.</p>
<p>“I suppose,” Heinz agreed.</p>
<p>It was a decent day. Only a few clouds in the bright blue sky, perfect for Roger to play golf if he wanted to. Only, Roger would have made it clear that he wanted to go golfing with Heinz if that was what he was up to. Heinz hoped that Roger hadn’t put off any important meetings in order to talk.</p>
<p>Before Heinz knew it, they were at his brother’s house. Heinz stepped out hesitantly, feeling like he couldn’t breathe, and not because of his chest binder. Roger was standing at the sidewalk, waiting. Heinz looked up at his brother and said, “Hello, Roger.”</p>
<p>“Wonderful to see you, Heinz,” Roger said with a smile, and the thing was, Heinz knew he meant it. He <em>always</em> meant it. “Come inside, we can talk.”</p>
<p>With only a half-second of hesitation, Heinz did so.</p>
<p>The house was nice, as always. It wasn’t a pristine, untouched place. It had warm tones and overstuffed couches and generally looked lived-in. Roger was the “waste not, want not” type when it came to home décor, and Heinz knew that some of the furniture he had here he had saved since he had first moved to college.</p>
<p>They sat in the living room, Heinz taking his usual couch corner. To his mild surprise, Roger didn’t sit across from him, but next to him. He had his hands clasped, and his head was bowed. “Roger? Is everything all right?” Heinz asked. Because as much as he and his brother might have their differences, at the end of the day, Heinz was Roger’s older brother. And he wanted nothing more than his little brother to be (relatively) safe. Even if Heinz took over the world, he would make sure that Roger was well-off.</p>
<p>Roger took a breath, before looking up, eyes distant as he stared at the wall. “Our parents have decided they no longer wish to speak to me,” he said, a faint smile on his face.</p>
<p>“They <em>what?!”</em> Heinz asked in shock. Roger, the perfect son, the perfect, <em>cisgender </em>son? Had been rejected by their parents?! “Why?”</p>
<p>Roger took a breath. “Because I decided I had not been treating you properly,” he said, looking over at Heinz.</p>
<p>Heinz froze. So, it was his fault. Again. He was <em>always</em> the reason things fell apart, wasn’t it? Linda, all those years ago...Charlene, too...and now Roger.</p>
<p>Roger put his hand on Heinz’s shoulder and Heinz blinked, realizing that his eyes had started to blur with tears. “Heinz, it’s not your fault,” Roger said. “I decided that I was wrong to only speak to you every other month, or when I wanted to see Vanessa. And I talked to our parents about it, and they disagreed. I made it clear I would not be changing my mind, and they made it clear they would not be changing theirs, either. So we agreed that they would no longer check up on me.”</p>
<p>Heinz still felt like he couldn’t breathe. How was he supposed to react to that? Roger had reveled in being the favorite son, sometimes, the <em>only</em> son. And now, here he was, saying their parents weren’t talking to him anymore. “What brought this on?” Heinz asked curiously.</p>
<p>“I had realized last time we spoke that it had been about two years since you had last gotten a new chest binder, and when I asked about it you simply said that money had been tight and you couldn’t get a new one yet. Correct me if I’m wrong, but you’re still wearing that one, aren’t you?”</p>
<p>Heinz turned red and mumbled, “Is it that obvious?”</p>
<p>“No, Heinz, but I know how to look for it since we grew up together,” Roger said. “I promise you still pass.”</p>
<p>Heinz took a shaky breath. “So, what? Why did that strike you as something you needed to help with?”</p>
<p>“Well...money has been tight for you since the divorce, Heinz,” Roger fumbled. “I don’t mean to hurt you, but...you have struggled. And I’m able to help. I <em>want</em> to help, if you’ll accept it.”</p>
<p>“You’d get me a new binder?” Heinz asked skeptically.</p>
<p>“Not quite,” Roger admitted. “But...I’ve been scrimping and saving for quite a while, and the mayoral salary is not exactly small, either. I was hoping that I could help you arrange a meeting with the plastic surgeon of your choice so we could—”</p>
<p>Roger didn’t get a chance to finish before Heinz was bawling his eyes out. He laughed, but it wasn’t malicious. “I was hoping you might be willing to help with the research, as I don’t know much about surgeons in the tri-state area, but...”</p>
<p>“Yes, of course, I can help with that!” Heinz exclaimed. “Are you sure about this? You’re sure you want to? I know it’s a lot of money...”</p>
<p>“It’s money well spent, Heinz. I want to help you. And if our parents don’t? That’s their problem. You’re the best older brother I know, and I want to help you.”</p>
<p>“Thank you,” Heinz breathed. “Thank you!”</p>
<p>“Of course, Heinz,” Roger said with a smile. “Shall we look up different doctors in the area now?”</p>
<p>Heinz beamed. “That sounds perfect!”</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>This story is part of the <a href="https://longlivefeedback.tumblr.com/llfcommentproject">LLF Comment Project</a>, which was created to improve communication between readers and authors. This author invites and appreciates feedback, including:</p>
<ul> <li>Short comments</li> <li>Long comments</li> <li>Questions</li> <li>“&lt;3” as extra kudos</li> <li>Reader-reader interaction</li> </ul>
<p>
  <a href="https://longlivefeedback.tumblr.com/post/170952243543/now-presenting-the-llf-comment-builder-beta">LLF Comment Builder</a>
</p>
<p>This author sees and appreciates all comments, but may not reply. If you don't want a reply, leave "whisper" somewhere in your comment and I'll leave it be.</p></blockquote></div></div>
</body>
</html>